


A Smol Outtake

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Series: Every Color Illuminates (Spectrum Adjacent) [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, De-Aged Shiro (Voltron), Gen, Shiro (Voltron)-centric, Therapy, They give it the old First Grade try, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:23:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9611285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: A continuation of the last chapter ofUnleashed the Dogs of War.Sam jokingly suggested that Shiro use the de-aging glitch of the pods to take a day off.This is part of that day.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The original de-aged chapter is [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7381330/chapters/16831687).
> 
> Read Unleashed the Dogs of War [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8310106/chapters/19615912).
> 
> This has just been sitting around forever, and since i haven't started on the Real De-Aged Shiro fic, I might as well post it. As a note, this is Non Canonical to Spectrum. But hey, it's funny.

Shiro shouldn’t have been surprised to find everyone ‘casually’ hanging out in the rec room.  His session had just ended, and the fact that he’d be spending the afternoon as a six-year-old again had spread like only gossip could.

So Shiro sighed and accepted his fate.  Looking up, he tugged on Sam’s shirt until he looked down.  “If I don’t make it, I want you to pilot the black lion.”

“Not on your life,” Sam replied.  He place a shockingly large hand on Shiro’s back and gave him a gentle shove forward.  “Go on, get it over with.  But it would do you good to remember you have all the power in the room.”

Pausing, Shiro looked down at his shrunken hands, nose crinkled.  But when he looked up to ask, Sam just ruffled his hair and gave him another shove.  “Ah, hello, everyone!” He called, as though it was perfectly normal to find them all camped outside, waiting for one of Shiro’s therapy sessions to end.

Matt’s head whipped up so fast Shiro was a little afraid he would hurt himself, and then he let out a noise that sounded like a squawk.  “Oh my god.  Oh my god!”  Reaching over, he grabbed onto Pidge’s shoulders, jerking her around in his enthusiasm.  “Look.  Lookit!  He’s so  _ tiny. _  It’s a bitty Shiro!”

Sighing again, Shiro glanced back at Sam.  “Do I have to?”

“Best to get it over with quickly,” Sam pronounced.  “And I believe you can handle it.”

With one last smile, just a tad smug, Sam nodded to everyone and slipped out, before the chaos could really erupt.  Lucky bastard.

“How’d it go?” Hunk asked, while Matt was still in his monosyllabic fit.  “Everything good?”

Stepping over, Shiro climbed - actually, physically climbed, because the couches were pretty tall - onto the seat next to Hunk and nodded.  “Yeah.  Mostly it was the same thing, just with me like this.”

Glancing up, Keith tilted his head.  “What’s the point, then?”

“Perspective change, I think,” Shiro replied, because it was as plausible an explanation as anything.  And telling them ‘oh Sam thought I needed a break from being your mentor’ or ‘it makes it easier to cry’ weren’t things he ever wanted to say out loud.  

Settling down next to him before anyone else could take the seat, Lance eyed him.  “It’s still so weird.  You still act like you, but you’re so little.”  Leaning forward, he squinted, then licked his thumb and scrubbed at Shiro’s cheeks.

Crying out, Shiro tried to smack Lance’s hands away.  “No!  Why?  Ugh,  _ no.” _

“You had marks,” Lance replied distractedly, and he continued to chase Shiro’s squirming head until he was satisfied.

Still scowling, Shiro wiped his face with his sleeve.  But then it hit him what kind of marks had to be on his cheeks.

Tear tracks.  Coloring, he looked away, but not before he saw Lance’s sympathetic expression.

Clearing his throat, Shiro took a deep breath.  “Well, it’s set to wear off soon, so we won’t need to deal with it in a couple of hours.”

“What?  No.  Can we make it last longer?”  Matt looked honestly devastated, as though Shiro had told him he was going to break his latest project apart.  “Dad said it would be all day.”

Pidge hummed.  “Actually, he said it would be the afternoon, which is half up.  We’ll have to see if it lasts through dinner.”

It probably would, but the less time they thought they had to coo over him, the better.  

“So, what do we do till then?” Hunk asked, looking down at Shiro.  He put his hand on top of Shiro’s head to gently ruffle his hair.  Just the palm nearly covered the entire top of his skull.  “Coloring worked pretty well last time.”

Crinkling his nose, Shiro tilted his head as he considered.

Matt made another strangled noise.   _ “Bitty nose _ .”

Rolling her eyes, Pidge kicked his leg.  “Get over it, already.”

Shiro beamed at her in response, and she smiled back, though there was a hint of a wobble to it.  Seemed that her cool was for Shiro’s benefit, at least somewhat.

Well, he could live with that.

“Coloring is fine,” Shiro replied.  “It’s calm.  Honestly, I’m not up to anything that involves a lot of moving around and fuss.”

Hunk looked around the room, and then down at Shiro.  “Can someone go grab my pad?  I would but I don’t think I should move right now.”

“I’ll get it,” Keith offered, moving to the door.

Hopping up, Pidge followed after.  “I know where the markers and pens are, I’ll help.”

Watching them both go, Shiro snorted.  “Wish you all listened to me that fast in training.”

“You should train as a six year old,” Matt offered, voice slightly choked. “It’d be very effective.”

Shiro eyed him.  “You mean cute.”

“Yes.”

Rolling his eyes, Shiro pressed his face into the side of Hunk’s arm.  “This was a terrible idea.  I should have stayed with Sam.”

Hunk cooed and tugged Shiro closer, moving him so his face was in Hunk’s side and he could wrap a heavy arm around his shoulders.  “Don’t worry, I’ll save you from Matt’s evil flailing.”

Because Hunk was more than half kidding, Shiro snugged into his side and wrapped his arms around him.  “Thank you,” he sighed.  “I can count on you.”

Next to him, Lance made a choked noise that sounded very close to a whine.

And what Sam said about having all the power suddenly clicked.

Ah.  Well then.

Curious as to the extent of his new powers, Shiro pulled back slightly from Hunk and met Matt’s eyes.  Then he opened his arms and held them up, like he was looking to be picked up.

Matt was across the floor so fast it was like he teleported.  Yanking Shiro up, he held him against his chest and pressed his cheek against the still white shock of hair.  “Goddammit,” he muttered.  “I know what you’re doing.”

“What?” Shiro asked, all studied innocence.  Matt shifted him so Shiro was comfortably leaning against his shoulder, and Shiro was reminded anew that there was an age gap between him and Pidge.  Enough that Matt probably helped out when she was small.

Turning Shiro around so they were nose to nose, Matt gave him a bland look.  “You can’t fool me, Shirogane.  You never could.”

Okay, being held up by the armpits was not particularly fun.  Shiro kicked his legs sulkily, trying to get enough momentum to swing closer to Matt and hold on.

But he didn’t get the chance.  Instead he was scooped up and pulled back, until he was leaning back against Lance’s chest instead.  “Dude, have you ever held a kid before?”

Matt arched a brow.  “Yeah.  You’ve met her.  Wears a lot of green, stole my glasses, huddles in the dark like a gremlin?”

“I didn’t steal your glasses!” Pidge shot back, announcing her and Keith’s return.  They had armfuls of pages and coloring utensils between them.  “You left them behind.”

“When I was  _ kidnapped _ .”

Pidge shrugged.  “When you went on a mission that was going to take well over a year.  You leave that shi-”  She paused, glanced at Shiro, then shook her head.  “That shit home that long, it’s  _ mine _ .”

Matt glanced at Lance again, expression flat.  “No respect for all the hours I spent caring for her.”

That only earned him a snort.  “You tried to dye my hair with Kool-aid.”

“You wanted blue hair!  I was providing!”

Shiro sighed.  “Guys, please?”

For once, they both pulled back from their spat immediately, watching him nervously, like he was about to burst into tears.

And Shiro was thinking about it, just to see what would happen.

Shiro had never been the kind to be overwhelmed by power rushes.  Authority was usually a burden he shouldered, not something to enjoy.

This was a little different, though.  And it was bubbling mischievously in his chest like champagne.

His six year old body apparently was as susceptible to it as actual champagne.

Letting out what was supposed to be a chuckle and came out as a giggle, Shiro pressed his face into Lance’s chest, hiding his giddy smile.  “Coloring?”

“Right,” Keith said, moving over and patting the couch, until Lance sat down with Shiro still securely tucked in his arms.  “Here.”  He pulled out one of the sheets of paper and spread it over the table, then moved aside so Pidge could dump the small mountain of containers, all filled with markers.

Sliding off of Lance’s lap and onto his knees, Shiro scooted up to the table and took one of the pens, thinking about what to draw.

They spent a lot of afternoons doing silly things, usually.  But Shiro often felt vaguely guilty for it, even when they needed it.  He needed an excuse not to be doing something useful.

Being six years old under doctor’s orders was a hell of an excuse.

So Shiro started to sketch in calm, short lines.  His fingers were small and not as dexterous as he was used to, but they worked for this.

Settling next to him, Matt leaned into his space, no doubt to be purposefully obnoxious.  “What’cha drawing?”

“Not telling,” Shiro replied, because he could.

Matt huffed and stuck out his tongue.  And in a moment of now-acceptable childishness, Shiro stuck his out right back.

Narrowing his eyes, Matt pointed at Shiro.  “You’re getting mouthy.”

“I was always mouthy,” Shiro replied easily.  “You’re just now noticing?  I thought you were picked for Kerberos because of your brains.”

Matt’s expression suddenly darkened, and he leaned forward in a way that suddenly set off some previously unknown instinct in Shiro.  “You asked for it.”  Then he snagged Shiro by the shoulder, tugging him closer and wrapping his arm around his head.

Then he scrubbed his knuckles into Shiro’s scalp.  Surprisingly hard.

Instinct kicked in, and Shiro shrieked and squirmed, trying desperately to hold back his giggles.  “Matt!”

“You shouldn’t mess with someone bigger than you,” Matt sing-songed.  “Now you’re gunna get it.”

And, okay, Shiro had been asking for it a little.  But, honestly, he wasn’t going to just sit there and take it.

So he sniffled.  Loudly.

Matt froze.  He started to take his arm back, but by then it was too late.

Shiro gave a tiny, hiccuping whimper.

“Matt!” Pidge snarled, just as Keith reached over and plucked Shiro away, holding him in a grip that was just shy of too hard.

Shooting Matt one of the darkest looks Shiro had ever seen him give outside of an enemy, Hunk ran his fingers over the crown of Shiro’s head.  “You okay, buddy?”

“Yeah,” Shiro replied, quiet and still just slightly watery.

Lance turned on Matt, hands on his hips.  “Dude, you’ve got to be gentle with him.”

“I was!” Matt replied, voice strangled.  “I didn’t think- Shiro, I’m so sorry.”

Peeking out from between Hunk’s fingers, Shiro met Matt’s eyes dead on.

Then he smirked.

Matt’s mouth fell open in outrage. “You-”

Before he could complete his sentence, Shiro turned back around and pressed his face into Keith’s chest, clinging to his shirt.  He was rewarded with more gentle back rubs.

Hidden by the fabric, Shiro grinned like a fiend.  That was payback for every time Matt had made snarky commentary during training when Shiro couldn’t get him back for it.

And he hadn’t even gotten started on the annoyances from the Kerberos mission, but Shiro might be merciful and let that go.

“You wanna go back to coloring, Shiro?” Hunk asked gently, and Shiro gave a small nod.  “Okay, here you go.”  Keith set Shiro back down, and he went right back to sketching.  Then Keith settled next to him, pointedly between Shiro and Matt.

Shiro grinned to the paper, happy to continue his sketch.

He was quickly joined by Pidge and Lance, both of whom were usually up for some sort of spontaneous doodling.  Inevitably, the page started to fill up with Corrbles, as it usually did since that one afternoon.

But Shiro stayed focused on his task, and then pulled back with a smile, pleased at himself.

Leaning over, Lance snorted.  “Is that The Daedalus?” 

Shiro’s head whipped up, impressed that Lance had remembered the name of the ship he’d piloted to Kerberos.  Then again, Lance had mentioned more than once he’d been a fan of the mission, as odd as it was to think about now.  “Yeah.  Should be to scale.”

Chin resting on his palm, Matt snorted.  “You would.”  He ignored the sharp looks he got with practiced ease, apparently not bothering to react to the Shiro Defense Squad.

“I would,” Shiro agreed cheerfully.  “You spot anything wrong?”

Matt leaned over and hummed.  “I think you made the sleeping quarters a little small, scale wise.”

“That’s how they felt,” Shiro muttered, and Matt nodded in bland agreement.

Humming, Pidge tapped her pen against the paper.  “Should we put some Corrbles on the ship?”

Shiro frowned, shoulders slumping.  “Wouldn’t wish it on them.”  Then he caught himself and glanced back up.  “It was tiny, don’t put the Corrbles through that.  They’re an expansive species.”

But the damage had been done.  The mood was suddenly much heavier in the room.

Well, damn.  That hadn’t been his intention at all.

Sighing, Shiro climbed back onto the couch, giving up on the coloring.  Hunk offered his arm, and Shiro leaned into it immediately.  It was like Hunk was a child magnet, honestly.  It happened if Shiro wanted it or not.

“Movie time?” Keith asked, brows up.  “If we’re done with this.”

“Yeah,” Shiro replied, sighing.  “Sorry.”

Lance patted his back.  “It’s fine.  Really, it is.”  When Shiro nodded distantly, Lance reached up and started to comb through Shiro’s hair, pulling it back from his face.  “Seriously, don’t worry about it.  Let’s just pick a movie, okay?”

“Disney,” Pidge chirped immediately.  “This is a Disney day.”

Pulling up their movie list, Matt hummed thoughtfully.  “Shiro still owes me a Hercules watch.  But- oh, Great Mouse Detective.  It’s been awhile.”

“I’ve never seen that one,” Hunk admitted, settling down against the couch.

Shiro hummed.  “Me either, but that’s not a surprise at this point.  That sounds good.”  Frankly, he didn’t care so long as Lance kept up the gentle brushing.  He wobbled in place, until Lance tugged gently and he tottered over, leaning heavily against Lance’s side.

While Shiro wouldn’t call himself tired, he was definitely relaxed. Which, given his tendency to not sleep much, was about the same thing.

The lights dimmed and the movie started to play, and Shiro didn’t even bother to open his eyes.  He just let himself doze.

It was rare that Shiro got to feel protected by someone bigger than him.  Even on Earth, it had been years since he’d felt cared for by anyone older and larger.

So he’d take advantage.  Just for the next hour or so.  Then he’d go back to being the protector instead.  But it was nice to take a break and relax, just to swap things up.

Even if he was going to have to deal with the pictures and teasing for the next several days.

Ah, well.  Shiro had lived through worse.


End file.
